A late rally came up just short for the FredNats, as Delmarva won the series finale 3-2. FXBG is now 20-10 (55-41), and the ‘Birds are 13-17 (36-59).
Travis Sthele made his second start of the series, and was dominant once again. The righty shutdown the Shorebird offense through five shutout innings, with six punchouts and no walks.
Delmarva’s Blake Money spun four scoreless himself, then rehabber Hayden Nierman tossed a spotless fifth inning before the Shorebirds got the offense rolling. Mason Denaburg walked the first two batters in the sixth, then a sac bunt moved both men into scoring position. Jake Cunningham capitalized with a two-run single up the middle, to give Delmarva the lead.
The Shorebirds made it 3-0 with a sac fly in the top of the eighth, but Fredericksburg battled back. In the bottom of the frame, Brandon Pimentel got the Nats on the board with an RBI single. And in the bottom of the ninth, Jorgelys Mota cut the deficit to just one run with a fielder’s choice grounder. However, Juan Rojas shut the door after that to preserve a 3-2 Delmarva victory. Nierman (1-1) picked up the win, Mason Denaburg (6-3) was saddled with the loss, and Rojas picked up his first save of the season.
Fredericksburg hits the road to take on the Lynchburg Hillcats, beginning on Tues., July 30.
